Intermittent fasting has had a lot of attention recently, and of course, while it is a way to help you lose weight, it is important to note a number of other benefits associated with intermittent fasting, in mind, body, and soul. Let’s show you exactly how it can benefit your life in a number of ways.
You Can Lose Visceral Fat
Of the many medical weight loss methods out there, people are usually doing intermittent fasting to lose weight. Intermittent fasting is a way for you to eat fewer meals, but intermittent fasting also works to enhance your hormone functions to improve weight loss. Because lower insulin levels increase the breakdown of body fat, using it for energy, which will increase your metabolic rate.
It Changes Functions in Your Body
One of the most exciting things about intermittent fasting is the various changes that can happen to your body. During the fasting process, your blood levels of insulin will drop, which starts the fat-burning process. But also, a process known as autophagy starts. This is the process of your cells repairing themselves. When the body starts to remove waste materials from cells, this is like your body undergoing a Spring clean. It also can improve your human growth hormone. This means that you can burn fat, but also gain muscle! Additionally, there are changes in a number of molecules and genes that relate to protection against disease and longevity.
It Can Benefit Your Brain
One of the less talked about aspects of intermittent fasting is how it can improve your brain. Fasting increases BDNF (Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor), a hormone that has been linked with depression and brain problems when present in low amounts. As intermittent fasting has a number of benefits relating to reducing insulin resistance, inflammation, and oxidative stress, these are all things that can benefit the brain. Additionally, studies in rats and mice have shown that intermittent fasting could increase the growth of new nerve cells, resulting in a number of benefits for the brain. This means that there could be potential for intermittent fasting to delay the onset or, at the very least, reduce the severity of cognitive decline, and even Alzheimer’s disease. However, the results are purely speculative because the studies have only been conducted on animals.
It Can Improve Your Mindset
Of all the health benefits associated with intermittent fasting, one of the more beneficial aspects that can help us all in our daily lives is how it affects our mindset. When people are incorporating a different type of fast, for example, a 16:8, where you fast for 16 hours, this leaves only an 8-hour window to eat your meals, which means that you are likely going to eat food with meals, resulting in less thinking about food. This forces us to eat healthily with those meals, and actually live a better life. Additionally, the very act of starvation requires a lot of discipline, and this is also something that can benefit the quality of your life, and improve gratitude.
